Sodhi to move court against SIT report

Guru Har Sahai MLA Rana Gurmit Sodhi on Saturday said he would move the court in the case of assault on him and his PA as the special investigating team (SIT) headed by the SSP had found the charges baseless.

Sodhi alleged that the Punjab Police had become an official spokesperson to cover up the "criminal and illegal" activities of the SAD goons, be it the attack on the AIG, murder of four ASIs, abduction of a minor girl or the recent attack on him and his PA. Meanwhile, Sodhi presented before the media his personal security officer Sukhmander Singh, an ASI of Punjab Police, who claimed that in a statement to the police he had mentioned about hearing the gunshot but as he was busy shielding Sodhi, he could not see the shooter.

On Friday, Bathinda IG Nirmal Singh Dhillon, while addressing reporters, had said that Sukhmander had denied a gunshot was fired during the verbal duel between Sodhi and the SAD leaders.

Sodhi claimed that they had repeatedly urged the local administration to get the medical of his PA Naseeb Singh done by a team of the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research in Chandigarh, but despite the assurances, they got it done by a team of doctors from the local civil hospital, that too against the wishes of the victim.He alleged that under a well-planned conspiracy, the report of the forensic lab was managed overnight.

Sodhi wondered what happened to the other charges, like beating up of Naseeb, looting his cash and mobiles besides using abusive language and manhandling an elected MLA.

Sodhi claimed that the police hushed up the matter under pressure.Sodhi said state Congress chief Partap Singh Bajwa had convened a special meeting of party MPs, MLAs and other leaders to chalk out a strategy to deal with the "growing lawlessness" in the state.

He said Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi and other senior party leaders would be apprised of the "highhandedness" of the SAD-BJP government.

On Friday, the SIT headed by SSP Varinder Pal Singh had found the charges levelled by Sodhi of a gunshot being fired at him by the SAD men as baseless, while the injury caused to his PA also allegedly fabricated besides finding the allegations by a woman SAD leader against Sodhi not true.

Denying the charges, the SSP said a fair probe was conducted and the report was based on facts. The SSP claimed that Sodhi, in his statement, had said that Montu Vohra had flashed a gun at him, but before he could shoot, Sodhi hit it with his hand and escaped the shot.

Whereas his security officer said when he found the situation getting out of control, he, along with fellow securitymen, took Rana into the security cover and while trying to make him sit in the car, he heard a sound like that of a gunshot, the SSP claimed.

Hence, there was a contradiction in the statements of the two, following which the SIT found the charges baseless, the SSP added.

SAD-BJP demand case against Sodhi

The SAD-BJP leaders here on Saturday demanded that a case of criminal conspiracy be registered against Sodhi and others, who "misled" the police to sully the image of the SAD-BJP.

State BJP chief Kamal Sharma, MLA Joginder Jindu, Guru Har Sahai halqa in-charge Verdev Singh Mann, Gursewak Mann and Ferozepur MC president Ashwani Grover said the inquiry by various agencies into the charges levelled by Sodhi and his PA found them baseless.

They said Naseeb was being exploited as a tool to implicate senior SAD leaders of the area to escape from the "defeat" in the zila parishad and block samiti polls.

They demanded that the local administration ensure stern legal action against those who were involved in the conspiracy.

They said those who twisted the evidence and fabricated the gunshot injury to Naseeb should be taken to task.